


A Short Fin

by Listenerofshadows



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Crying, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Panic, Platonic Moxiety, Transformation, Unspecified/Ambiguous References to Abuse, blood mention, injuries, mermaid au, slight body horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:28:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23673061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Listenerofshadows/pseuds/Listenerofshadows
Summary: Patton escapes to the docks every night. And like every night, a certain merman comes for a visit
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 4
Kudos: 128





	A Short Fin

**Author's Note:**

> For a tumblr prompt requesting “It’s over. They’re not going to hurt you again.” w/ Virgil saying it to Patton
> 
> I started this awhile back and finally finished it, enjoy! <3

Patton sits on the edge of the dock, rocking his legs back and forth. The waves ripple beneath, gentle and relaxed. The moon is out tonight, a bright white orb hanging high in the star-stricken sky. Patton doesn’t notice any of this. 

He’s too focused singing, his eyes screwed shut in concentration. His fingernails dig into the wet wood as the notes come out all strained. Images flicker in his mind’s eye like an old movie reel. He stops singing, gasping horribly for breath. No, no, he refuses to focus on what happened earlier today. 

He knows he’s making a big deal out of nothing. Everything is fine–there’s no reason to be upset. He just needs to remind himself of that and be happy. 

“Why did you stop singing?” 

Patton flinches, his eyes flying open to see a murky outline bobbing in the water; Virgil. His violet eyes glow bright like a cat’s in the dark as he looks up at Patton. 

“I’m sorry, kiddo, I didn’t realize I had an audience.” Patton says, unable to keep from smiling. It’s ironic really–the merman is the one who is enchanted by the human’s singing. 

Virgil doesn’t seem to share this sentiment. He tilts his head to the side in a way that reminds Patton of his childhood dog Spot. 

“You didn’t answer the question.” He accuses Patton, in his low gravelly voice. It sounds like the thrashing of waves–of seashells skittering together as the tide pulls at them. 

Patton shrugs, humming noncommittally, “I dunno!” 

Virgil comes closer, hauling his upper half onto the dock. He folds his arms across his chest in a causal gesture. When they first met, Virgil wouldn’t dare come this near to Patton. He’d led Patton into thinking he was some sort of night swimmer that passed the docks on his daily swims. A storm and plastic debris changed that perception completely.

Patton could never forget the gleam of those dark scales in the sunlight. How streams of crimson red ran down them. The baring and snarling of sharp reedy teeth as Virgil screeched at him to stay back. 

A webbed hand touches him, jarring Patton back into the present. 

“Are you okay?” 

Patton nods, so fast he gives himself whiplash, “Mhmm of course! I’m A-Okay! Or I should say, I’m doing fantastic! Pat-tastic!” 

Virgil stares at him, searchingly. Like trying to uncork a message in a bottle and decode it’s secret meaning.

“Patton, you were singing that Let it Go song,” He says slowly, “you only sing that one when you’re upset.”

Oh crab nuggets.

“I–it’s fine,” Patton swallows, forcing down the shards of glass down his throat, “I just gotta stay happy and everything will be okay again.”

Virgil’s webbed hand drifts upwards, touching the bruise peeking out of Patton’s shirt sleeve. 

“That’s what you said last time. And the time before,” Virgil growls softly, “Dammit Patton, it’s never going to be okay! Because it isn’t!”

Patton jerks away, his body instinctively curling into himself. Like a hermit crab taking safety in its shell. He peers out of a crooked elbow, heart pounding in his chest. Virgil is still there, lips firmly pressed together. The waves continue to crash into the shore. A seagull screeches in the distance.

“I’m sorry,” Virgil says softly, looking at him intently, “I–I should’ve have reacted that way, I just–I care a lot about you Pat. And you deserve so much better.”

Patton shakes his head, laughing. It isn’t a pleasant laugh, like downing cotton candy at the pier carnival in the summer. It’s coarse and acidic like the salty coastal air.

“It isn’t that simple,” Patton leans his head against his knees, “He loves me. I know he does–he just doesn’t know how to control his temper. That’s all. And–and well, maybe it isn’t okay, but I don’t have any other place to stay at.”

Virgil gazes off into the distance, twisting his lips.

“You could, you could come with me.”

“What?” Patton splutters, “Kiddo, I appreciate the offer, but humans can’t–”

“I know,” Virgil ducks his head, “which is why I brought this.”

He reaches into the little satchel he always carries with him and pulls out a small round object. It almost shimmers in the moonlight, a crystal clear white. A pearl, no doubt.

Patton pokes it with his finger, confused.

“It’s said that if a human consumes a pearl during a full moon, they’ll transform into a merfolk,” Virgil tells him, “It’s silly I know. But I thought maybe it’s worth a shot.”

“I want to try it.” 

“Are you sure?” Virgil asks, his webbed fingers closing around the pearl, “even if it does work, there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to go back to being human if you changed your mind.”

Patton smiles, blinking hard to keep the tears at bay. His heart twinges, not out of pain but of the love and affection he has for his merman friend. Despite what Virgil may think, he really is the most considerate, kindest being out there. He always worries about Patton, always listening to what Patton has to say. He never bulldozes over Patton’s feelings or belittles him. Never.

He places his hands over Virgil’s, “I’m sure.”

Virgil nods, opening his palm once more. He doesn’t quite meet Patton’s eyes as the other takes the pearl from him. Patton holds it up, his breath catching. God, he wants it to work so badly. This moment echoes back to his childhood, where he yearned to escape into a fantasy world. Far away from stern authority figures and cackling juvenile bullies. 

In the visage of the full moon, he swallows it whole. It isn’t as smooth as he expects it to be--it has more of a sandy, grainy texture to it. Virgil grasps his hand, squeezing it as tightly as he could. Patton squeezes his hand back. He knows the hand-holding is more for Virgil’s benefit than his own. He can tell by the way the merman grinds his teeth.

Five minutes pass by and no noticeable change occurs. A pair of seagulls flies overhead, mere silhouettes against the backdrop of the bright starry sky. Patton watches them, sighing as he leans his head against Virgil’s shoulder.

“Hey, it’s okay, Virge. I think you’re a _fin-tastic_ friend--” Patton wheezes, his lungs burning as if a fire ant colony took up residence inside of them.

“Pat!”

He’s glowing. A shiny and shimmery white like the pearl. An excruciating pain hits his whole body like a tidal wave. His skin feels too thin on him, too dried and shriveled up. Suddenly, he’s all too aware that this is what a sea creature washed up on shore must feel like.

“W-wa--wat--” Patton tries speaking, but a shrill scream overtakes him. Too high-pitched to belong to a human’s. 

Virgil seems to understand his request, because something pushes him into the water. He sinks like a rock, pain still stinging like a thousand jellyfish bites. For a fleeting moment of panic he can’t breathe. Then something protrudes from his neck, like spikes pushing from the inside out and he can breathe again. It’s all he can do as he glows brighter, as his legs fuse together into something else entirely; a tail. 

Strong arms grab hold of his upper half, a muffled soft lullaby sung in unison to his involuntary shrieks. He can’t help but think in the back of his head that the mermaid movies left out just how painful it was to become one.

His jaw shifts, his teeth elongating and sharpening. He goes deaf one moment, the next everything is so much louder. A similar thing happens with his vision as the saltwater no longer stings his eyes. 

Fins push out from underneath the skin behind his elbows.The bones in his hands twist and reposition themselves, becoming webbed like Virgil’s. His neatly trimmed nails become more hooked, more jagged. Easier to snatch up a fish or defend himself against a threatening force.

The longest, most agonizing part of the process is the tail. At one point, his lower half goes numb from the pain. He stares, almost detached, as the appendage grows and extends. It makes up his original height and then some. It’s grey, with splashes of a glistening blue. He tries wiggling it and is surprised when it responds to him. New nerves flare to life, running from the end of his tail all the way to his lower back.

“Virgil?” He whispers, his voice much clearer than he’d normally expect underwater.

“Yeah?” His friend responds, still holding onto Patton with a fierce, firm grip. As if he feared Patton would float away into oblivion.

“It--it worked.” He let out a wispy laugh. He threw his arms over Virgil’s frame, his tail instinctively curling around the other’s. He’s a merman. He’s free to live with his best friend forever. He doesn’t have to return to that creaky, weathered beach-house again. He never has to hear those empty promises. Nor ever again endure the thrashing, hair-pulling, insults. None of it.

“Shhh, it’s over,” Virgil reassures Patton over his gulping sobs, a hand gently massaging his scalp, “They’re not going to hurt you ever again, I promise.”


End file.
